Category: 1950s

I’m glad I had watched the 1995 film version of the play fairly recently because it was less of a struggle to get through this one being familiarized with the narrative. I’m also really glad that Olivier’s Hamlet was black and white, because the colors in this are really distracting. I expect beautifully detailed castle interiors and instead get bare, cheap-looking sound stages. The costumes are garishly colored and the wigs are ridiculous. Both might be more faithful to a stage production, but film can do better. I much preferred the scenes filmed naturally in the outdoors toward the end. Olivier’s Richard is pretty good. It’s hard not to when he’s a master Shakespearean, but still found Ian McKellen’s superior for gross Machiavellian sliminess.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role

Since I’ve been aggressively watching more movies in the last year or two, I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been taken aback by blackface that suddenly inexplicably appears in a musical number. Here again is one of those times. It’s hard to not feel that this musical is a bit of a parallel to Joan Crawford’s real life. Her character here is a Broadway star who aggressively feels like she knows better than anyone else, alienating those around her. There’s a campiness to her portrayal, especially in the choice to have her lip sync to a voice that does not match her own. 

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role